to be a bit irked about disabled badge holders using mum and baby spaces

[mousemole]

I am not sure why I am irked because clearly having a disabled badge means you have a need to park near a supermarket. But when all the mum and child spaces are gone, and I am struggligng with baby and toddler, and see a man with a blue badge RUN from his car in the pouring rain to Sainsburys whilst I can't get a space I have to admit to feeling P*ssed off. Oh and I also dont understand why totally able bodied senior citizens feel they have the right to park in them either.
Rant over.

Please dont abolish them P&T spaces, I am dependant on them (have a baby and 2 disabled children but the criteria on blue badges got hoiked up just as ds1 was awarded moblity and I cant be arsed to fight)

There are many many selfish bastards who use stolen Blue Badges -and family members who use them when the disabled person is not in the car, and unfortunately that makes both finding a space and the general reputation harder for Blue Badge Users.

The other weekend a whole row of disabled spaces in Dulwich Park were occupied by men who were playing v vigorous footie, no passengers etc - I saw them all get in their cars at the end of the game. Some had faded old raggedy looking badges, some had none, just parked. I know all about hidden disability etc etc - these were arrogant little S London boy racers in their Golf GTIs, I promise.

I have a Blue Badge for DS, and I wish I had had the courage to block their cars in and disappear for a long stroll round the park with DS in his wheelchair.

They are apparantly introducing more stringent checks on Blue Badge parking - which will be a good thing as it will weed out the selfish cheats.

This topic really is the gift that keeps on giving. Of course disability takes priority over P&C, but wanting to get rid of parent and child parking spaces is a bit much.

Perhaps some of you have forgotten how hard it is to juggle babies and toddlers, have unusually compliant children or are just miserable old bats who don't want anyone's life to be made slightly easier! Please note this is not directed at any particular poster, more a general comment.

My sister knows someone who has one legitimately for a dc, but has been known to abuse it.
They went shopping one day, without this persons dc, and she said to my sister, not to worry about taking the bus as she would drive, use the blue badge and would get free parking in the city centre (edinburgh).

Ah but the checks weeded us out too as we couldnt face an interview with all the boys in tow,

No matter, we will sirvive- I am too scared to go ut the boys anyway alone unless an emergency and there's n change there then

Peachy- for something like autism I think it is far easier to just go the higher rate mobility route and get a blue badge that way.

You know, the Blue Badge could be a red herring here!

What if there is a Blue Badge holder in the family, but not in the vehicle, it just happens to be left on display (many have holders like a tax disc), and the man is really just an unreasonable man who wanted to nip in to the shop without getting too wet?

Nothing to do with the blue badge, just another person who flouts the general P&T space rules, and we are all getting het up about the nature of his disability.

YA (STILL) BU.

I love p&T spaces, not over and above disabled of course but when I had a 20 month old and a new born I found it really hard to walk across a car park to find a space.

Also they drive like nutters where I go (Trafford Centre Asda) so a bit mental with 2 toddlers (as they are now).

Also the breaks never work on the trolleys and that means I have to leave the trolley in the 'road' with a kid in it, or leave one the 3 year old 'touching' the car.

I don't have an option to leave them with anyone before anyone says it.

As a mother of TWO disabled kids (who, according to the signs in Asda are allowed to be in the car when parked in M&P spaces, as they are under 12) I say 'Are you serious???!!!'

thank you for your defence Soupdragon

I hate the way people always say "Do your shopping online". What if you don't want a load of stuff just near its sell by date, or want to chose your own fruit. Jeez.

Also the "baby melt in the rain" type comments.

I agree that disabled people should have precedence over mums with toddlers if there are no disabled spaces available. Does irk me a bit if there are lots of disabled spaces available but for some reason a blue badge holder parks in mum-and-baby space, because obviously I can't (and would never dream of it!) use a disabled space.

However, I do think M&T spaces serve a very useful purpose. I have a 4 yo, a 3yo and an 11mth old. The 11 mth old is very heavy and wriggly, and as such it makes it impossible to hold both dds hands across a busy car park- I find it nervewracking knowing that they are too small to be seen by cars, but I need to lift them out first and leave them standing- in a M&B space I can put them on a safe pavement. It's nothing to do with laziness, or rain (considering we walk for miles in it every day with the dogs!), but purely safety and practicality. Like others I also need to be able to get the car doors fully open, not so much to get the kids out, but to be able to get in to strap them in, with 3 baby seats in the back.

I asked a young, fat male owner of a large fancy cruise-liner-on-wheels type thing, who was parking up in a M&B space next to me if he was actually in possession of a small child, as these were M&B spaces, maybe he hadn't noticed. I was very polite, and he reluctantly offered to move. I do think there are good reasons for these spaces- toddlers are very vulnerable in car parks, and some people in there don't seem to look in their haste to nab a space.

exactly joolyjoolyjoo - carrying a heavy baby and trying to hold onto the hand of an excitable three year old whilst trying to see and avoid traffic is not fun. Nothing to do with baby melting in the rain. The rain just makes it even harder to see !

here here jooly, well said.

Is this a another rollover conversation? Can't be bothered to read but I hope something new and interesting came up this time.
Sorry, touching a raw nerve here from someone who sees the day she will be entitled to park in both P&T spaces and have a blue(?)badge. Lucky me!!
-bet someone will still start a thread on here about it though

well said jooly!

If as some kind poster said earlier about placing M&T spaces next to the recycling skips, fine, I can walk - even in the rain, my children aren't of the dissolving variety. I really don't care how close/far from the supermarket I am.

All we need is slightly larger spaces, with a pavement to either put baby+trolley, whilst we take a toddler out the car, or put the toddler whilst we take the baby out of their car seat.

All I want to be able to do is take my children out of my car safely and keep them away from the road. M&T spaces enable me to do this.

These threads depress me so much; it's the fact that there are actually parents out there that would resent me parking in a M&T space with my blue badge.

And for the record, I'm not a miserable old bat, in fact I'm rather gorgeous

oooh cali - twas me - the kind poster

remember that MUMSNETTERS!

You say that like you're proud of yourself. Where are your manners, woman?

disabledbay/ this is how the big bods park

mousemole, it could have been dh running to his car a man, who just over a year ago was close to death. and on monday started suffering tremors again due to possible too high levels of his anti-rejection drugs, and is currently back in bed feeling unwell whilst we wait for blood results and adjustment of meds.

good days followed by bad ones. story of our lives.

Quite right jooly. The point of P&T spaces - I'd always thought - was less to do with proximity to the store and more to do with extra space to get car doors open while you wrestle with car-seats etc.

Am baffled about the amount of controversy this causes - fail to see why it has to turn into a 'them v us' conflict with blue-badge holders.

Personally I don't think it's the end of the world if all the P&T spaces are taken (wouldn't dream of using a disabled space in those circs) - but I do feel irritated if someone parks in a P&T space and then emerges sans child.

controversy is caused by the likes of the op. who start threads like this.

They didn't even have M&B parking spaces when mine were babies! I can see the need for extra space to open the door but I don't see why they need to be near the entrance. I would have thought a blue badge holder would have had more need and people would been more unselfish.

Noonki i shop at traff centre asda too. Was there today infact, there were no m&t spaces.i did look sideways at the white van man parked in a m&t on his own with no bb.